Educator Spotlight: Preparing for Teaching with Manchester Metropolitan University  

Preparing for Teaching began its first run in mid-January. The course is aimed at people considering a career in teaching, and covers many aspects of what to expect before commencing teacher training by first encouraging learners to reflect on their own experiences of learning. Ellie Overland, Senior Lecturer in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, explains “The course will help you to think about teaching in a different way to how you have done in the past. Allowing you to make the transition from being a learner, to being an educator yourself.”

The course helps learners prepare for classroom observations and introduces concepts such as behaviour management, teaching different subject areas and the process of applying for teacher training, and concludes by helping learners develop an action plan to start their teaching career. Preparing for Teaching examines teaching across a range of levels. Ellie points out that “we work with a huge number of education partners, including primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, and specialist settings. We know exactly the sort of things that you need to consider before applying to teacher training.”

At Manchester Metropolitan University, education students join us from all walks of life including straight from school, university courses, working in industry and even those already actually working or volunteering in schools. Ellie herself was once one of these students and, having worked in schools for over 15 years, is now assistant programme leader for the secondary PGCE course and is completing her doctorate researching how ICT and computing are developing in schools.